Google Home Mini (2017)

These two options dominate the market at the $50 budget range. There are virtually no better Smart Speakers at this price point than the Amazon Echo Dot (3rd Gen) and the Google Home Mini (2017).

The Amazon Echo Dot (3rd Gen) has done great in quite a few roundups from some of the most highly trusted sources available, such as TechGearLab, PCmag, SoundGuys, and Tom's Guide, which perform high-quality in-depth testing. It got awarded the "Fastest to Install and Great for Renters" title by TechGearLab, "Best for Most Affordable Alexa Access" by PCmag, and "Best bang for your buck" by SoundGuys in their respective roundups. Earning that much praise from such respected sources is undoubtedly an impressive accomplishment.

Taking a look at the Google Home Mini (2017), we found that it did great in numerous roundups from highly trusted sources that conduct objective in-depth testing, including SoundGuys, Wirecutter, and Wirecutter (NYTimes) - it was named "Best bang-for-your-buck" by SoundGuys, "Also great" by Wirecutter, and "Also great" by Wirecutter (NYTimes). A product that's held in such high regard by some of the most reliable sources on the internet should be considered by anyone that's in the market for a Smart Speaker at this price.

We also looked at which sources liked these products best and found that the Amazon Echo Dot (3rd Gen) got its highest, 10, review score from What Hi-Fi?, while the Google Home Mini (2017) most impressed reviewers at PhoneArena, which gave it a score of 9.

Finally, we also compared their review scores to the rest of their competition - the Amazon Echo Dot (3rd Gen) earned an average review score of 8.9 out of 10 points and the Google Home Mini (2017) received an average of 7.9, compared to the 7.4 average of Smart Speakers in general.